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It won’t be long and the Philippines will see the rise of a new and bustling metropolis owing to an economy that is relentlessly on expansion mode. Cebu, which is part of the country’s Central Visayas region, registered another banner year in the real estate sector and gained the legs on its march to global city status.

Market observers have reported that due to high demand for residential property, specifically in the condominium segment, prices across the board have soared considerably. According to regional newspaper Sun Star, “prices across the residential real estate market have increased during the first quarter of 2018, year-on-year.”

Prices of affordable homes jumped by 14.5 percent in the same period while in the mid-range housing segment, the increase was pegged at 12 percent, the local daily said on its report.

It’s the same upward trajectory for the flagship offerings by real estate developers in the province as the paper likewise indicated that for premium units, prices have increased notably and in double figures or by up to 12 percent as of March 2018. Sun Star based its report on the data furnished by property service outfit Santos Knight Frank.

Asian Buyers Fuelling The Surge

It appeared too that foreign buyers, mostly coming from South Korea, Japan and China, have been fuelling the upswing both in demand and prices. Property investors are coming to Cebu looking to capitalise on the perceived “capital appreciation and leasing opportunities,” the report from Santos Knight Frank has stated.

The assessment from the Makati-based firm was supported by the statistics released by local tourism authorities, showing that for the most part of 2017 nationals from South Korea, Japan and China flocked to Cebu and collectively bought large volume of condominium units. It was estimated that of the 40,000 units that were made available during the observed period, around 35,000 units have been snapped up already.

Unsurprisingly, it is the Chinese that made the most buys, showing year-on-year growth of 57 percent, the report said.

In a related news story, Property Report said the uptick in residential property developments in Metro Cebu was largely intended to accommodate the influx of Chinese migrants due to the country’s offshore gaming boom. Already, the Philippines saw the arrival of around 200,000 Chinese nationals and many were believed to be part of the gaming industry.

Rosy Projection Ahead

In light of the prevailing trend, the Santos Knight Frank report forecasted that Cebu and the surrounding areas are well-positioned to become a world-class metropolis soon.

“The improvements to the airport (Mactan-Cebu International Airport) will further increase tourism, facilitate greater inflow of capital and help continue the metropolis’ growth momentum in the coming years,” according to the firm.

Likely soon enough, Cebu will transform into a global city on the account of “a strong economy, large pool of talent and new infrastructure in place,” the Sun Star report said.